SET SAIL FOR THE MED

PainSailing.com’s guide to holiday destinations in the Med for beginner, intermediate and expert sailors.

You could step away from the usual destinations with a holiday in Malta

Wherever you are reading this, the odds are that it is cold, grey and miserable outside, which makes it the perfect time to start planning a holiday. Ideally somewhere sunny and warm and, naturally, involving some sailing.

We are truly blessed to live just a short plane, or even train, journey from the Mediterranean Sea - the biggest, best and most diverse sailing ground on the planet. However, if you are not sure exactly where to go for your ideal sailing holiday, here are a few ideas from charter experts PlainSailing. com, based on how profi cient you are in the cockpit…

BEGINNERS

The Mediterranean is ideal for beginners – the waters are non-tidal (so you do not need to panic about racing into port or trying to understand tide-tables) and the whole area is also generally well sheltered from the elements, so you can rest easy that you are not going to come across giant, metres-high waves. There are, however, some bits of the Med that are even more sheltered than the rest – making them the ideal places for beginners to learn the ropes or hone their skills.

And beginners will be glad to know that they do not lose out on any of the Med sailing experience by heading somewhere with lighter winds or less swell - some of the most iconic and beautiful places in the Med fall within this bracket.

This includes the North and South Ionian islands in Greece, which is the most popular area to sail in the Med, and offers turquoise waters, white sandy beaches, colourful fi shing villages, simple line-of-sight navigation and plenty of things to see and do. If fl ights to Corfu or Lefkas do not work out, then the Saronic gulf is just as suitable for beginners, and you can get there by fl ying into Athens.

Further north (which makes it slightly cooler temperature-wise, particularly in August), the whole of the epic coastline of Croatia is positioned in the sheltered Adriatic part of the Mediterranean. There are hundreds of islands to hop around, and you can visit the medieval towns of Dubrovnik, Korcula or Trogir; fi nd a sandy beach or sail around one of their protected marine nature reserves.

Sail-tourism has only been around in Croatia for 20 or so years, so they have a very well-planned network of modern marinas, which is great for those who are not comfortable anchoring out or who like a bit of land beneath their feet in the evenings. There are some marinas, like Piskera, which are purpose built to allow sailors to get as remote as possible, and almost all of them are now bookable online, which means you will not have to rush or stress about fi nding a berth.

Neighbouring Montenegro also offers not-too-strong wind conditions, even more so in the Kotor Bay area, where you are sailing between mountains. The country is something of a millionaire’s playground, with superyachts and big, fancy brand- new marinas.

Outside of Greece and the Adriatic, beginners can also relax and enjoy life on board in Malta or the Balearic islands (Mallorca and Ibiza). There are plenty of places to visit to keep you busy for the week, but they are smaller cruising grounds, so sailing distances can be shorter and you will fi nd yourself making simple and confi dencebuilding hops up and down the coast.

If you are happy with short distances in idyllic islands, the other place to consider is Sardinia where you can explore the exclusive Costa Smeralda and the Maddalena islands very comfortably, and sample the high life on your own yacht. You can moor up in Porto Cervo and pick up, say, a new Gucci bag.

Image: Kavalenkava/Shutterstock

You could be enjoying the stunning French Riviera this year

INTERMEDIATE

Most of the Med opens up for sailors who have a few years of experience on board, and particularly people who are comfortable on the anchor, reefi ng up and sailing in slightly stronger or direction-changing winds (in general, this includes most British sailors, who are well known for being hardy in the face of the elements).

In Greece, this encompasses the Sporades islands or Cyclades islands – both offer excellent sailing conditions and you should be able to get a fair rate of knots as you hop between the islands. The time you are willing to commit to standing at the helm alone dictates how remote you can sail here, and the Cyclades would make an outstanding two or three-week break.

In Italy, head to Salerno, where you can get the best view of the famous Amalfi coast as you sail along it, visiting iconic touristmagnets like Sorrento, Amalfi and Capri, and anchoring out at colourful Corricella. Or sail from Sicily for volcanoes, Tuscany for Elba (the best island in the Med?) or Sardinia also becomes intermediate if you sail across the potent Bonifacio strait to Corsica (and the trip to the hill-top castle-town of Bonifacio is almost certainly worth it).

Intermediate sailors should also consider the French Riviera (imagine arriving on your own yacht or catamaran in St Tropez, Nice or Monte Carlo…!), or sailing up and down the turquoise coast in Turkey where you will fi nd restaurants and jetties hidden in remote bays and fl oating supermarket boats, which mean you do not even need to head to the mainland to get provisions.

Whilst the sailing conditions might be similar, every area of the Med proudly has their own identity and culture, so you will fi nd that the local food, drink and experiences on land will be quite different – it really is a cruising ground which could occupy you for decades, without you ever running out of new places to visit.

Image: Fesus Robert/Shutterstock Image: Balate Dorin/Shutterstock

Med winds are strongest in areas like Rhodes

EXPERT

Thankfully, with the Med being as sheltered as it is, you do not need to be an expert to sail in it – and when it comes to charter boats, they simply do not exist in places where sailing is not fi rst and foremost enjoyable. Most experts will be happy anywhere in the Med, and will enjoy feeling relaxed, prepared and under control whilst they bask in the sunshine - which are possibly the best conditions for sailing.

Sailors in search of more exhilarating sailing will fi nd the winds at their strongest in the Dodecanese islands (Rhodes and Kos) in Greece, where you can heel over at speed as well as taking in all the usual charms of Greek island sailing.

Alternatively, ‘experts’ can spend an extra hour or so on the plane and sail in the Canary islands (Tenerife, Lanzarote), where they will fi nd tidal sailing in the Atlantic a little more of a challenge.